Hey friends. I’ve been so excited to introduce you to a dear friend. Her name is Jodie Berndt. She’s easy to love, and if you love UVA, you’ll love her even more!! HUGE Wahoo fan!

You know how we love prayer here. That’s why I invited Jodie to share from her new book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children. Be sure to enter to win your own copy at the end.

She not only has a HUGE heart bent toward praying for children, she also has a passion to equip parents how to pray for their children. I only wish I had her books when my kids were young. But, I’m so thankful for this one because her newest book teaches us how to pray for our adult children. It’s filled with stories, examples, scripture and humor. It’s a great book to get and to give!

Take it away Jodie …

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“Hillary doesn’t have a job,” I said, “and she seems…content.”

I was having lunch with a friend, confiding my latest parenting worry. I was afraid that I’d raised one of those boomerang kids—the kind who get out of college and then brings their lives (and their laundry) back home.

My friend smiled. “Your daughter,” she countered, “only graduated three months ago. Trust me; she’s probably not content. She’s an engineer—they think in linear terms. She’s pursuing a job; she’s just not doing it the way that you would.”

Well, she had that one right. Hillary was definitely not looking for a job the way I would have. I would have loaded my résumé into the barrel of a shotgun and pulled the trigger, splattering my education and experience all over any company that was hiring. But Hillary was a little more particular. She had some job offers but, having earned a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering, she’d set her sights on the space industry. Ideally? Ideally, my girl wanted to be an astronaut.

Which was, honestly, kind of hard for me to appreciate. Who actually does that? Was “astronaut” even a job? And how long would it take? I don’t remember my exact words, but I think my advice went something like this:

Trusting God with our children’s future means being willing to trust his timing.

Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Pick that one apart and you get the idea that 1) God has a plan; 2) He’s on a clearly defined timetable, and 3) His design has been in place since forever. Had I embraced these three truths at the start of Hillary’s job search (instead of eight months later, after I’d pretty much been exposed as the opposite of the Proverbs 31 mother), I could have saved myself a lot of mental anguish and spent the better part of a year enjoying time with my girl, instead of worrying about her future.

We know God has good purposes, and that (Philippians 2:13) his job is to work in us—and in our children—to get us to think and act in ways that line up with these plans. Part of that alignment, I’m (slowly) coming to realize, is being willing to depend on his timing.

“Let us not become weary” Paul writes, “in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” That’s Galatians 6:9, and it’s always been one of my favorite “hang in there” verses.

Sometimes, “doing good” simply means waiting well. Because it doesn’t matter what our request is, or what it is that we think we need, God already has the answer all mapped out. He will provide. The harvest will come (spoiler alert: Hillary got her dream job) at the just the right time.

So let’s hang in there. Let’s wait well. And let’s pray:

Heavenly Father,

Help me, as I put my trust in you, to trust your timing. Today, I give you ___________, surrendering this situation into your tender care.

Help me to wait well.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

The Giveaway – now closed – Congrats Michelle Reed!

Where do you find yourself struggling to trust God’s timing? Leave a comment—perhaps a favorite Bible verse or promise that helps—for a chance to win a copy of Jodie’s latest book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children.

Jodie Berndt is the author of several books, including Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens, and Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children. A speaker and Bible teacher, Jodie encourages readers to pursue joy, celebrate grace, and live on purpose. Find her writing (and download free prayer printables) at JodieBerndt.com and follow her on Instagram @Jodie_Berndt, Twitter @JodieBerndt, and Facebook @JodieBerndtWrites. Jodie and her husband, Robert, have four grown children and two sons-in-law.

I’m so thankful for each one of you … for how you love God’s Word and have come alongside me for so many years to study His word together. Here’s a New Year’s Prayer for you!

Father,

I’m so thankful to walk into this New Year with You. I stand amazed that though You are the King of kings and Lord of lords, You are also my Abba Father. The One who knit me together in my mother’s womb. The One who knows my heart, my every need, my deepest desires, my scars, and my faults and failures. Yet, You still love me. Thank You that Your love knows no bounds. Lord, in this New Year, I invite You to fall afresh on me.

Father,

You are holy, and You call me to holiness. Not perfection. Holiness. Help me know the difference. You created me in Your image and call me to be more like You. I confess at times, my heart wanders. My speech disappoints. My actions fail. Draw me closer to You. Keep me alert to Your voice. Give me a teachable mind and ears to hear the whispers of Your sweet Spirit.Clothe me with humility. Enable me to submit to Your Word. Use it to penetrate those deep places in my heart that resist change.

Father,

Give me a heart that hungers and thirsts for more of You and Your Truth above all else. Grant me a spirit of wisdom and discernment so I can understand the wonderful truths and promises tucked in pages of Your Word. Give me a Spirit of revelation to discover the secret treasures You have hidden for me. Help me discern truth from lies. Open my eyes to the schemes of the evil one. Keep my eyes forever fixed on You. When I wander, Lord, draw me back. Refresh and refill me with the fullness of Your Spirit.

Father,

As I enter into this New Year. I’m not making resolutions. I’m making a commitment. I commit to give You Your rightful place on the throne of my heart. To put You above all else. Give me the courage to make the decisions that will make that happen.

Father,

You are Faithful and True.I’m inviting You to do a mighty work in and through my life this year.Thank You for Your promise that when You begin a work, You are faithful to complete it. I want to walk step-by-step with You every day. Help me to trust You, even in the hard places. Even when it costs. Help me lean not on my own understanding, but Yours.Help me to acknowledge You in all my ways so that I can obey Your voice when You speak,“This is the way, My child, walk in it.”

Father,

I love You and thank You that You love me.Make my life a living testimony to You.I ask this in the powerful and mighty name of Your Son,Jesus Christ our Lord, who will do exceedingly, abundantly above all that I could ever ask or imagine.Amen.

Satan uses these pain-filled places to steal our joy and draw us away from the very peace Jesus came to give.

So, how can we effectively navigate heartache and hurt during this season?

Prayer and Love … the love of Jesus.

His love in us enables us to overcome the grief, heartache and hurt. It’s our choice. We can choose to live steeped in anger and bitterness. Or we can choose to surrender our hurt to Jesus. The only One who can truly take it and transform us through it. It’s when we truly understand and live in the extravagant, lavish love of the Father that we can surrender the grief and forgive the hurt.

Heavenly Father, I confess that my perception of love is so vastly different from Yours. Oftentimes I view people’s actions through the lens of my wounded soul. I sift people’s words through the hurt piled up in my heart. I know deep down inside that I don’t understand Your love. Help me surrender my inaccurate, preconceived notions of love. Open my heart to receive and embrace authentic love … Your love … the kind of love that laid down its life for me. Enable me to comprehend the vastness of this love. Soak it deep into the marrow of my bones so that it becomes one with my soul, and I truly live loved. And then transform my heart from the inside out with Your love so that I can be a glowing example of Your lovingkindness. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, enable me to walk in that love, in any situation, in any relationship, anytime, anywhere. Help me to believe the best and forgive the worst. May I reflect the fruit of Your love in all I say and do. I ask this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

God’s Word says the prayers of His daughters are powerful and effective.

If you’re hurting and prayed this prayer, leave a short comment letting me know. No need to share details. I know these are hard things to share. Later this week, I’ll pray for you by name. And, if you have a few moments, pray for a few of the names in the comments, and I ask for your prayers as well.

I trust God will answer our prayers and do a mighty work in our midst. I believe that by the power of His Holy Spirt, WE WILL BE GLOWING EXAMPLES OF GOD’s LOVINGKINDNESS wherever Christmas finds us!!

Merry Christmas!

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If you’d like to watch my entire session 1 video of I Am Loved, FaithGateway is offering it for free here as their Bible Study of the Week.

Also, I hope you’ll join us for our Online Bible Study at Proverbs 31 Ministries. It kicks off January 22 and you can sign up here so you don’t miss a post.